Stock and Dmoz questions

[cliveant]

I set up my very small business online approx 2 yrs ago now....but I am getting frustrated

1. all my profit seems to be ploughed back into increasing stock. I know I need to hold more stock as at times I run out of I am very very low. I presume that eventually I will reach a level of stock which will remain constant....and that at this time I will then be able to draw a wage from the business. But I am getting really frustrated about when this is going to be and even if this will ever happen! Any advice on how other faired at the beginning would be great.

2. i cannot get into dmoz and have decided, for now , not to pay to get into the yahoo directory. But my competitors are all in one or the other. How on earth do you get into dmoz....I am afraid to keep submitting.....but after 2 yrs with trying perhaps 3 times during that period it seems unlikely I will get in there. What am I doing wrong....or should I just pay for yahoo?

 

[fisicx]

Forget DMOZ, it rolled over and died a long while ago.

As to stock levels, how are you managing them? What software do you use to predict and check you minimum stock levels? Do you have to hold the stock yourself, could you use a dropshipper?

 

[mcol]

dmoz is still important from Google's point of view. The best way to get in is to apply to become an editor.

You should also think about joining "best of the web" and "joe ant"

 

[cliveant]

I think you have to pay for BOTW....do you think this is worth it. Also what are peoples thoughts on paying for the Yahoo directory?

My stock system is not very sophisicated at this stage....my turnover is only about £30K !! Basically my website itself allows me to record stock levels.....but as the business is so small I know myself what is low, what sells, what doesn't etc.

My frustrations are.....that I will be running at this low turnover for years.....whilst I build up stock. I know I could sell more if I had it as I often have to keep lists of customers who are waiting for stock to come in! But I don't want to borrow to buy stock. Also I have made some mistakes in buying things which don't work and so I am left with this stock...which will sell but very slowly.

If only I had a crystal ball and knew exactly what to buy!

 

[fisicx]

dmoz is still important from Google's point of view.

Really, why? They dropped all references to DMOZ from the webmaster guidleines a long time ago and will have indexed and ranked your site long before DMOZ even gets round to considering your submission.

 

[deniser]

Haha, you and me both! That's what takes years of experience.

With DMOZ seriously, volunteer to become an editor. The place is overwhelmed with people submitting sites and doesn't have enough editors. I know because I am one. My section used to be under control and I used to list sites straight away but there are just so many submissions now (if you think about it, how many websites exist now compared to even 4 years ago?) that I have failed to keep up so I do them as and when I can and the waiting list gets longer and longer.

 

[mcol]

Really, why? They dropped all references to DMOZ from the webmaster guidleines a long time ago and will have indexed and ranked your site long before DMOZ even gets round to considering your submission.

Because it still has integrity, and as such it is used as a trust factor in the google algo. That's my view anyway. And ranking is a continual process so it doesn't matter at what point you get into dmoz.

 

[J-Wholesale]

IMy frustrations are.....that I will be running at this low turnover for years.....whilst I build up stock. I know I could sell more if I had it as I often have to keep lists of customers who are waiting for stock to come in! But I don't want to borrow to buy stock. Also I have made some mistakes in buying things which don't work and so I am left with this stock...which will sell but very slowly.

Without knowing what your particular business is, it sounds to me like you might be carrying too many different lines of stock, hence you are only able to carry small numbers of each.

When you're starting out, you should target a small number of items, and not a wide range. This allows you to carry volume, and expand into new lines/products only when you can afford to do so. My experience has been that choice is not nearly as important to customers as some would have you believe.

For example, if your products come in multiple colours - stock 1 colour only! Given the choice, customers will select from a wide range of colours Given no choice, 99% of them will buy the colour you have in stock. And if it comes in multiple sizes, stock the most popular size only! This is hard for many businesses to accept - that they shouldn't be trying to please all possible buyers - but it makes a huge difference when starting out.

 

[FLAUK]

I set up my very small business online approx 2 yrs ago now....but I am getting frustrated

1. all my profit seems to be ploughed back into increasing stock. I know I need to hold more stock as at times I run out of I am very very low. I presume that eventually I will reach a level of stock which will remain constant....and that at this time I will then be able to draw a wage from the business. But I am getting really frustrated about when this is going to be and even if this will ever happen! Any advice on how other faired at the beginning would be great.

Are you increasing your product lines or just treading water?

How have your visitors and sales increased over the two years?

2. i cannot get into dmoz and have decided, for now , not to pay to get into the yahoo directory. But my competitors are all in one or the other. How on earth do you get into dmoz....I am afraid to keep submitting.....but after 2 yrs with trying perhaps 3 times during that period it seems unlikely I will get in there. What am I doing wrong....or should I just pay for yahoo?

I just had a site listed in DMOZ after a 1.5 year wait. Other sites I submitted got approved within a month but that was a while ago. Perhaps try another category such as a small regional one but the general consensus to to submit and forget. Maybe your site is lacking something to get listed - do you have full contact details displayed? Don't worry about it too much though, while it's still a good link to have (despite what some here will tell you) it is not the be all and end all and there are other directories with authority out there.

Be careful if you submit to the Yahoo directory, many of the categories are not even indexed any more - for example:

http://uk.dir.yahoo.com/Business_an...Services/Outdoors/Gear_and_Equipment/Torches/

 

[cliveant]

Sales and visitors have both increased and continue to do so gradually.

Maybe my downfall, as suggested, is offering too much choice as I do have small numbers of lots of stock lines to offer variety. The more popular items I keep more in stock but even on these lines I don't have as much stock as I would like.

Perhaps I should now concentrate on just the popular items.

At the moment every time I order in more stock I will order a new line as well just to try it out. I will need to stop myself from doing this.

Thanks for the advice on dmoz and yahoo too. I think I will leave yahoo for now and possibly wait a little longer for dmoz - fingers crossed they will get round to me.

Just one other question. What do people think about getting finance. I set up the business on a shoestring - with less than £500 of my own money which I took back after only a few months. I am sure that if I borrowed I could expand more rapidly but would rather not if I can avoid it. On the other hand if this would help my business take off more quickly maybe I should consider it. What are peoples thoughts on loans for very small business.